Memorial Day

Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia places a wreath on the tomb of Captain Eddy Grant, a former New York Giants third baseman who died in 1918 during the World War I battle at Argonne Forest, France.  LaGuardia was joined by members of the 307th Infantry Regiment during the ceremony at the Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan, May 30, 1935.  Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia Photograph Collection.  NYC Municipal Archives.

Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia places a wreath on the tomb of Captain Eddy Grant, a former New York Giants third baseman who died in 1918 during the World War I battle at Argonne Forest, France.  LaGuardia was joined by members of the 307th Infantry Regiment during the ceremony at the Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan, May 30, 1935.  Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia Photograph Collection.  NYC Municipal Archives.

On Memorial Day we honor the men and women who died while serving in the United States military.  Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.